By PAM HARBAUGH
Cool down with pop art. At least, that’s one idea with two exhibits on view through Aug. 30 at the Foosaner Art Museum.
The traveling show “Pop Art in America” gets viewers up close to some iconic Andy Warhol prints. It comes from the NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale and includes Warhol and other artists synonymous with the American Pop Art movement — Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, Larry Rivers, Jim Dine and Robert Indiana.
Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger #9, 1975. Screenprint in color, ed. 11/250, 43 1/2 x 29 inches. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Henry Hope. Collection of NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, 76.6.Photo courtesy of NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale. © 2015 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Also on view is “Pop Artists and Friends: Works from the Permanent Collection,” an assemblage of some fantastic pieces from the Foosaner’s private collection. Of particular interest are prints by John Chamberlain, who was otherwise known for his massive smashed car sculptures. The pieces on view were discovered by Carla Funk, Florida Tech’s Director of University Museums. She came upon them as she surveyed the collection following the university’s merger with the museum.
You’ll also see works from the so-called “Peace Portfolio,” which includes prints by 13 artists commissioned for anti-Vietnam War efforts.
An interactive gallery exhibition is designed to elicit a smidgeon of the history at Andy Warhol’s New York City studio dubbed “The Factory,” or the “Silver Factory” (as it had “silver” walls). It was also the go-to place to be seen in the rarefied, glitterati atmosphere of Warhol’s inner circle.
The interactive gallery includes a photo booth fashioned out of enormous Brillo boxes (pictured above). The photos taken in that booth are then manipulated into a series of colorful images and projected onto another wall to evince the iconic Warhol series and the notion that everyone will have 15 minutes of fame.
To view a video about the exhibition, click here.
The Foosaner is at 1463 Highland Ave., Melbourne. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays. $5 general, $2 seniors, children and students. Free to museum members and on Thursdays to the general public. Call 321-674-8916 or visit www.FoosanerArtMuseum.org.
